Reaper
by brosexual
Summary: When confronted by your worst enemies, sometimes the most sensible thing to do is join them. AU. [soriku, akuroku.]
1. High Road

disclaimer: i wish i owned everything but alas i do not

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><p><em>you are the one nobody likes, you are the plague that was brought here by rats<em>  
><em>i like to hunt you, lets fight; watching you fade out and never come back<em>

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><p>The sunlight was harsh, even filtered through the trees as it was. Daytime was always hard for him. Shading his face with his hand, Riku carefully picked his way through the overgrowth, eyes lacking their usual brilliance.<p>

He was hungry. God, but he was hungry. He hadn't eaten for a good few days and it showed in his slumped shoulders and his sluggish movement. He had learned to stay alert at times like this, to watch and listen for anything that could offer him sustenance.

"Just keep moving," he muttered to himself, even as he slowed and slumped against a tree, exhausted. _Keep moving_, repeated like a mantra through his head. These parts of the forest were dangerous for people like him.

He blinked, gazing up at the treetops, wondering why it was getting so hard to breathe. _At least it's getting dark_, he mused.

It was high noon when Riku passed out.

oOoOo

It was to the quiet sounds of rustling and murmurs that he awoke.

Slightly cracking open one eye, he apprehensively took in the group of three people that surrounded him. They paid him little attention though, too caught up in surveying the forest around them.

His vision was swimming. It was nauseating. He let his eye fall shut again.

"-one of them?"

"It's daytime. He would have burned to a crisp already if he were."

"I suppose."

Riku kept his face trained still and passive. From what he had saw, his company was well-armed and ready to take down one of his kind, and he hadn't been planning on getting killed anytime soon. Maybe it was best to just wait it out. They'd leave him be if he was patient enough, surely.

When a hand suddenly gripped his arm and violently shook him, he figured that idea was moot.

"Oh, quit that. You're going to give him whiplash."

"You have any better ideas?"

The hand was removed and Riku felt someone crouch in front of him. "Hey," a voice murmured. "Are you alright?"

He blinked his eyes open again, peering into an impossibly blue pair. Maybe if he played dumb, he'd have a better chance of escaping with his life. "Huh?"

The boy in front of him grinned, appearing proud of himself. "Are you alright? We found you passed out here. This forest is kind of our territory, so we wanted to make sure nothing happened to you."

Riku narrowed his eyes, once again glancing at the group around them. They had all turned their attention to him when he had spoken, curious, if not slightly wary. "What do you mean?"

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a clearing of a throat and a hand clamped on his shoulder.

"What Sora here is trying to say," a too-tall redhead said with a tight smile, "is that the forest just isn't the safest place to be for the common folk."

"I see," Riku said slowly, eyeing the red giant of a man who seemed to be sizing up Riku as well.

The air in the forest clearing was thick with tension, only broken when Sora spoke up again. "So...you're okay, right? You aren't hurt? You seem kind of pale."

Riku put on a convincing smile, moving to stand up. He didn't feel quite so bad now that the sun had gone down, though his hunger was still ripe, and being surrounded by so many people was distracting at the least. But when he got on his feet, black spots bloomed across his vision and he swayed, only managing to stay upright due to the arm that wrapped around his waist.

"Woah, careful...are you sure you're alright?"

Riku grimaced. "I'm just a bit hungry, I suppose," he answered, figuring it was a safe enough thing to say.

Sora looked at him anxiously, and then at the skinny red-haired man. "Axel, why don't we bring him with us?"

So Axel seemed to be the leader, Riku noted. He'd have to keep a closer eye on the man.

Axel's stubby excuses of eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. "You know that's not up to me, man." Sora opened his mouth to protest before Axel continued, "But aw, what the hell, it's not going to hurt anyone. Sure, let's take him back to the fort."

Sora cheered, tightening his hold around Riku's waist as the group began picking their way through the now dark forest. The silver haired man remained silent, having a good idea exactly where it was they were taking him.

"I think that's a piss poor idea," a stony-faced blonde grumbled from somewhere behind him. Riku recognized the voice as the one who had been shaking him earlier.

"You think all ideas that aren't your own are, to be fair," Axel said, looking back with a bright grin. "Don't be such a negative-nancy, Roxy."

The blonde snorted derisively. "Don't call me that."

After that, the only sounds that filled the air for a long time were the crunching of their feet on the ground and the bugs in the forest.

"What's your name, anyway?"

There was a beat of silence. "Riku," he said after deeming it safe enough to answer.

"Riku," the brunette beside him repeated, nodding. "It's a nice name. I'm Sora, if you didn't already know. The skinny guy with the wacky hair is Axel, and the blonde is my brother, Roxas."

"Is there any reason all of you are carrying around crossbows?" he asked, referring to the weapons strapped to each of their backs.

It was Axel that responded. "Like I said earlier, the forest isn't the safest place to be hanging out. Got that memorized?"

"What makes it so dangerous?" he asked, glancing at Axel. The man gave him a tight-lipped smile and said nothing.

oOoOo

As the moon rose higher in the sky, the trees surrounding them started to open up and the grass flattened into something resembling a pathway. The ground sloped upwards, and over the horizon Riku could see the sharp points of a wooden fence. Smaller, sharper barricades littered the hill around them. As they got closer, the top of a stone building came into sight.

"What is this place?" Riku asked, deciding to play dumb for just a while longer.

"Home sweet home," Axel murmured, leading them through the thick wooden fence enclosing the fort. It was bigger than Riku expected. but considering who exactly it was he knew he was dealing with, he wasn't all that surprised. "Welcome to Fort Dusk."

Still leaning against Sora, they climbed the stairs leading to the large metal door. Axel pulled it open with effort, gesturing them inside. Inside, the main chamber of the fort was surprisingly bland. There were racks of weapons - more crossbows, silver hatchets, daggers, swords - and corridors leading out of the round room. A winding staircase led to an open level above them, and a few people peered down over the ledge at them.

Axel was already heading through one of the hallways. "I'll go tell the big guy about our little friend here," he called over his shoulder.

Roxas sighed next to them. "I'll go with him - I wouldn't put it past that bonehead to forget what he's doing on his way upstairs."

"I heard that, sunshine."

"You were supposed to," the blonde grumbled, even as color crawled across his face, before he trudged after the other.

Left standing alone in silence, Sora looked over at Riku. "So, I guess we should try to find something for you to eat now, right?"

The taller man blinked, confused for a moment. "Oh," he said, thinking fast. "I'm not that hungry, actually."

"But earlier you said-"

"Sora!" Startled, they both turned to look at the girl hurrying towards them. "You're back! You guys took your time. I was starting to get worried." She glared at Sora, who sheepishly rubbed at his neck.

"Aw, gee, Kairi, sorry about tha-"

"Who's he?" She cut him off, turning a somewhat intimidating look on Riku.

"If you had let me finish," Sora muttered good-naturedly, "this is Riku. We found him passed out in the forest."

"Why did you bring him here?"

Riku resisted the urge to snap at her. He understood why she didn't trust him, though. It was hard to trust anybody these days. Still, that didn't make him like the way she was looking at him. The brunette might have been too oblivious to see the dark look the girl was giving him, but Riku wasn't. He glared back at her until she turned her back with a huff, stalking away from them.

"Oh, ignore her." Sora said after she was out of hearing range. "Kairi's not very keen on newcomers, see. Kind of comes with the territory."

"Territory?" Riku asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

Sora grinned, a gleam in his eyes. "We're known as Reapers. We're vampire hunters."

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><p>an: title is subject to change  
>i had skyrim's dawnguard in mind when writing this, so imagine the fort looks like fort dawnguard. also i know the fort name and stuff is stupid sorry ahahha;;<p>

if it isn't clear, yes, riku is a vampire :o


	2. A Step Back

disclaimer: i own absolutely nothing - a fact that saddens me more than it should

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><p><em>I'm taking a step back from inside; forsaking the life that I once had,<em>  
><em>I've tried, I hate that you already do<br>__I'm making a run from the dark side; replacing night with the sunlight,  
><em>_I've tried, I hate that you already do_

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><p>"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" Sora asked, casting a worried look over Riku.<p>

"Thanks, but I'm sure."

The brunette eyed him for a moment longer before shrugging with a mischievous grin. "Alright, but when your stomach is grumbling later, expect no sympathy from me."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Like I even want your sympathy."

The other boy laughed, turning towards one of the hallways. "Well, I'll give you the grand tour, then. The dining hall is through there- feel free to take a look if you ever decide you're hungry."

Riku nodded, so Sora moved on, actually leading them into the next hall.

It was a long and dark hallway, and their footsteps echoed eerily off the walls. For some reason, it put the taller boy on edge. Unconsciously, he inched closer to Sora - who either didn't notice or didn't care.

And when a overwhelming feeling of dread prickled up his spine, he stopped walking entirely.

Sora stopped too, looking back at him curiously. "Are you alright?"

"...What's down this hall, exactly?"

Before Sora could answer (and Riku could only guess what the answer would be), Riku's ears perked, picking up the shrill howling that suddenly seemed to fill the walls around them. He couldn't help it, he shuddered, taking a step backwards. It was a horrid sound; and there was an awful smell coming from somewhere further down- something like wet dog and carnage and something else that Riku had learned to associate with his own kind.

Sora glanced down the hall, then back at Riku. "Maybe," he started slowly, taking in the green tint that had overtaken his pale face, "it'd be better to show you around a bit later. You look a bit...ill. Do you need some rest?"

_N__ot exactly,_ Riku thought, nodding anyway.

"Right, then." Sora murmured, putting a hand on Riku's shoulder and steering them back out of the hall. "The bunks are upstairs, follow me."

They climbed the stairs in silence, and when they made it to the top floor, they were greeted by a petite blonde girl with an airy voice. "Hello, Sora. Riku."

Riku narrowed his eyes at her. He didn't know why, but something about her set something him on edge; similar to the feeling he had gotten in that hallway. "How do you-"

"I've talked to Axel already," she explained with a delicate smile. "I'm Naminé. I saw you with my sister earlier; I'm sorry on her behalf. She's a very...cautious person."

"She's talking about Kairi," Sora explained softly from next to him. "And, Naminé, not trying to be rude, but we were just heading to bed."

"Oh," her smile never faltered, "I understand. Sleep well, both of you. It was nice meeting you, Riku." she skirted around them to head down the stairs.

"Anyway," Sora said once she was gone, "let's get some rest. I'll introduce you to Ansem in the morning - he's the founder of the order," he explained at Riku's glance.

Of course, Riku knew who Ansem was- the man was understandably a popular subject among his kind. There were plenty of rumors that circulated through the vampire covens - some said he had a vendetta against the creatures because they murdered his family; others thought that he used to be a vampire himself before turning against them and forming the Order of the Reapers.

Riku realized the brunette was staring at him. "What?"

Sora rolled his eyes. "Never mind. You must really be exhausted, huh?"

"...Something like that."

"Oh, alright. The bunks are this way." He led them into a decent sized room, cots littering the ground. A few were already occupied. Sora gestured to a vacant one, taking a seat on the bed next to it. "You can sleep there. No one should bother you, but if they do, just wake me up."

"Right, I'll do that. Thank you," he said with a polite nod before settling down onto the mattress.

Sora smiled at him. "No problem! Goodnight, Riku."

"Good night."

And then it was quiet, aside from the soft noises of sleep. Riku laid awake, staring up at the high ceiling. After countless minutes, he sat back up, glancing furtively at the people around him.

When he started the day, he didn't think it would turn out like this. Taken in by the enemy. What a joke.

He stood silently, glancing around once more before creeping out of the room and down the stairs. He had something to take care of. Slipping out of the metal doors and into the cool night, he took a deep breath, letting the moonlight wash over him. Everything was still and quiet as Riku made his way down into the forest, blissfully unaware of the sharp green gaze that followed him.

oOoOo

He was quick in his business, making it back to the fort before the hour had passed. Teal eyes were bright and near luminescent again, skin no longer a sickly shade of grey but a near flawless porcelain. He felt infinitely better than before.

Riku absently licked his lips as he eased open the fort's door and snuck in.

"Late night rendezvous, hm?"

Riku startled, glancing around in the dark for the source of the voice. A mass of red spikes emerged from the shadows, a narrowed green gaze zeroed in on him.

"I couldn't sleep," Riku lied, thinking fast. "Going for walks helps clear my mind."

Axel hummed, stepping closer. "I see. Did you forget what I said about how dangerous the forest is at night?" He was circling Riku like a predator, eyes dangerous.

"It must have slipped my mind," Riku growled, fighting to keep his face passive.

"Has anything else _slipped your mind_, lately? Anything you want to share? Who knows, maybe talking about will help clear your mind a bit more."

"Thanks for the offer," he ground out, "but I'm going to have to pass."

Axel shot him an unreadable look and then he grinned, a truly frightening expression. "Sora might trust you for whatever reason," he murmured, voice lowering, "but I don't. Get it memorized, _Riku_." With those words, he turned on his heel and disappeared down one of the dark corridors. Riku kept his eyes on the spot for a long moment before he heaved a breath and headed back upstairs. He was definitely going to have to be careful around that one.

oOoOo

Morning came quickly once Riku was able to fall asleep, and it came in the form of a loud brunette shaking him awake.

"Riku, hey, Riku!" Teal eyes shot open, narrowing at Sora. "Woah, not a morning person, are you?" With a chuckle, he released his hold on Riku's shoulder and gave him room to sit up.

"What time is it?" he muttered, disgruntled.

"Just before noon," came a rather amused voice from the doorway. Both pairs of eyes turned towards it. "You must be this Riku I keep hearing about."

"And you are?" Riku asked, although he already had a clue.

"My name is Ansem. I'm the leader of this order."

Brilliant teal dropped to the ground, appearing humbled. "I've heard of you," Riku replied, keeping his eyes trained on the ground and unable to keep a small smirk off his face. "It's an honor, truly."

Ansem peered curiously at him, a spark of interest ignited in his gaze. "You've heard of me, have you?"

"Mm. Where I come from, there were great stories about this group." It wasn't exactly a _lie_...

"And where do you come from? From what I've heard, you were apparently found in our forest."

"Nowhere special," Riku answered without elaborating further, finally lifting his eyes to meet Ansem's. There was perhaps a touch of hostility now in the amber gaze, though it was well masked.

"Hm."

"Ansem," Sora spoke up, glancing between the two. "If he wants, why doesn't Riku join us?"

Eyes widening, the silver haired man had to bite back a surprised bark of laughter. _Him_? Join a group of _vampire hunters_?

Ansem seemed intrigued by the idea though. "We'll have to see how he fights, first."

"Aw, even if he's horrible, we can always train him like we do with the normal recruits!" Bright blue eyes turned eagerly to him. "What do you say, Riku? Are you in?"

_N__o,_ he wanted to scream, because maybe he did hate what he was, and maybe he did hate the way the vampires terrorized humans, but cold-blooded murder of his own kind? That was...the idea was sickening.

He wasn't the only one who was surprised when he found himself answering.

"I'm in."

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><p>an: i'm going to try and make these chapters longer, don't worry. oh, and the Ansem in this story is actually Ansem the Wise, not Xemnas (although he will show up a bit later on c; )  
>reviews and favorites really make my day so..go crazy you beautiful people<p> 


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